Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

pulchritude

[ˈpʰʌɫkɹəˌtuːd]

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.36 in modern English

Syllables: pul-chri-tude
IPA: [ˈpʰʌɫkɹəˌtuːd]

19

Scrabble Score

11

Letters

3

Syllables

10

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Physical beauty.

Uncountable

Example Sentences

"1978, Charles D. Benson and William Barnaby Faherty, Moonport: A History of Apollo Launch Facilities and Operations, NASA Special Publication 4204, 1978, ch. 4 https://web.archive.org/web/20061020074600/http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4204/ch4-8.html One participant recalls arriving at his Cocoa Beach motel on a Saturday evening with the Miss Universe contest on TV. To his wife's amazement, his interest in feminine pulchritude gave way to fatigue, and he was asleep before the final selection."
"Do you know why a woman of such pulchritude is married to me? 'Cause I make a comfortable living."

Etymology

From Middle English pulcritude, from Latin pulchritūdō, from pulcher (“beautiful”).

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: pulcritude, pulchritūdō

Regional Pronunciation

American English: [ˈpʰʌɫkɹəˌtuːd]
British English: [ˈpʰʌɫkɹəˌtjuːd]

Usage

Uncountable

Inflected Forms

pulchritudes (plural)

Derived Forms

pulchritudinous

Synonyms

comeliness attractiveness beautifulness beauty good-lookingness gorgeousness loveliness prettiness pulchritude

Questions

How do you pronounce pulchritude?: The recorded pronunciation is [ˈpʰʌɫkɹəˌtuːd].
What does pulchritude mean?: Physical beauty.
Where does pulchritude come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce pulchritude

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “pulchritude”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling ([ˈpʰʌɫkɹəˌtuːd]) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “pulchritude”.
Repeat and practice — Say “pulchritude” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.